Land Invertebrates
Media
![several yellow aphids on plant](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/aphid.jpg?itok=dGcPSNxT)
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 1,300 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Aphids are common, small, soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. To see them well, you probably need a hand lens, but the damage they do to plants can be all too obvious!
Media
![Adult large milkweed bug on a sand vine leaf](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/2021-08/Large_Milkweed_Bug_Sand_Vine_8-15-21.jpg?itok=jzf-LQOq)
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 80 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Seed bugs are named because most species in their family eat seeds. Included in this group of true bugs are the colorful milkweed bugs but also several less exciting brownish bugs.
Media
![Jagged ambush bug on a plant stem](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/06/ambush_brunet2012.jpg?itok=LWJqO2gF)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Phymata spp. and others in subfamily Phymatinae (ambush bugs)
Description
Ambush bugs are a subfamily of assassin bugs. They’re chunky, small insects with powerful grasping forelegs. They hide motionless in flowers waiting for prey to venture near.
Media
![Admirable Grasshopper on grass stem](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/admirable_grasshopper.jpg?itok=vXpTidTB)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Syrbula admirabilis
Description
Although they both have slanted faces, male and female admirable grasshoppers look quite different: The females are large and marked with bright green and tan, and the males are smaller and wear brown, black, and tan hues.
Media
![image of a Wheel Bug, Side View](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/06/wheelbug_brunet2012_9085.jpg?itok=0w0GKNYz)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Arilus cristatus
Description
The wheel bug is a large gray or brown insect that carries something interesting on its back: Is it a cog, or a wheel, or a circular saw blade?
Media
![image of a Common True Katydid](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/06/katydid_brunet2012.jpg?itok=gihblWvx)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pterophylla camellifolia
Description
The common true katydid is a master mimic. Its bright green color matches surrounding leaves, and its wings are veined like leaves as well.
Media
![image of an Ichneumon Wasp on tree trunk](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/ichneumon.jpg?itok=JcCr4SHd)
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 5,000 species in North America
Description
Most ichneumon wasps are harmless, although the long ovipositor of the female is intimidating. Their larvae live as parasites inside caterpillars and other larval insects.
Media
![Green June beetle on goldenrod](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/june_beetle.jpg?itok=LMf7nONO)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cotinis nitida
Description
The green June beetle is a common type of scarab beetle in Missouri. These large, metallic green beetles buzz loudly when they fly. They are attracted to ripe and rotting fruit and compost piles.
Media
![metallic, emerald-green beetle on ash leaf](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/07/eab_7-26-12_0.jpg?itok=sCFQuQA8)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Agrilus planipennis
Description
The emerald ash borer is a highly destructive, invasive beetle that kills every type of ash tree — even healthy, vigorous ones.
Media
![image of Fiery Searcher on dead leaves](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/fiery_searcher.jpg?itok=0POiNHsA)
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 2,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Ground beetles are a family of mostly nocturnal or light-shunning beetles that tend to be shiny black and have grooved wing covers. This group also includes tiger beetles, however, which includes many colorful daytime fliers.
See Also
Media
![Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/scape_moth.jpg?itok=-C79oNCa)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cisseps fulvicollis
Description
The yellow-collared scape moth is more often “orange-collared.” And whether you think it looks more like a firefly or a wasp, it’s still a moth!
Media
![image of Plume Moth on blade of grass](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/06/plumemothdb.jpg?itok=mHLwIYWX)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Nearly 150 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Slim, delicate plume moths are instantly recognizable by their T-shaped silhouette, long legs, and muted shades of tan and brown. It can be hard to separate the various species.
Media
![Photo of an Isabella Tiger Moth](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/isabella.jpg?itok=DGWZ86EN)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pyrrharctia isabella
Description
Not many people know the adult Isabella tiger moth when they see one, but we’re all acquainted with its caterpillar, the woolly worm, or woolly bear.
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.